Dark Magician
by UnlimitedDreams
Summary: After his death, Dark Magician meets a strange girl named Snow. She makes him an offer. If he helps her protect certain people, she would aid him in reuniting with the Pharaoh when the time came...
1. Chapter 1

It is dark, cold. For a moment, I wonder how I can feel the cold without a physical body. I dismiss the thought a moment later. Such things no longer matter.

I glanced around, trying to make sense of my surroundings. It was then that I realized, I could move! It was… surprising. The darkness and cold were expected of course, but…

A flash of colour caught my eye. Icy blue against blinding white, a stark contrast to the darkness all around. Another spirit that had been sealed here or simply an illusion, conjured up by my mind? The darkness wasn't terrifying to me, neither was being alone. I had grown used to it. There should not be a reason for me to yearn for company now, was there?

"You are right." An amused voice echoed through the darkness. "Though you took an _extremely_ long time to arrive at that conclusion."

I turned my head, searching for the source of the voice. She obligingly appeared, seemingly having come from nothingness. She looked at me, considering, measuring, yet never judging.

After what seemed to be an eternity, she finally spoke.

"You sealed yourself in here voluntarily, did you not?"

I nodded.

"The one you wish to meet will once again reappear in the world."

I felt a momentary surge of joy before hurriedly quashing it. There was no proof that she was telling the truth.

"It will take a few thousand years though."

I remained silent. It was expected. I was a fool for hoping that for once, something would be easy. A few thousand years of darkness and coldness. I could take that. I had withstood everything else the world had thrown at me, after all. I can survive the shadows.

She looked at me once again; I met her eyes, measuring her, just as she had measured me. Her gaze was contemplative.

"I offer you a proposition." She finally said.

I looked at her enquiringly.

"There are a number of people whom I need to ensure the safety (and sanity) of."

I nodded and she continued.

"However, I am still injured and need some time to recuperate."

I was surprised, though I remained expressionless. She did not seem wounded in the slightest.

"Help me take care of them."

I raised an eyebrow and spoke to her for the first time.

"What will I get out of this?"

She laughed.

"I will arrange it such that you will meet the Pharaoh once he is awakened."

I mulled for a while over this. Searching for the Pharaoh would be difficult, especially so since I did not even have a vague idea of which _when _he would appear in, not to mention _where._

In addition, this would give me something to help pass the time. Sitting down doing nothing for a few millennia would be… boring. There was nothing I could do in this empty place.

"Deal."

She smiled.

"You will be sent to the times that they will appear in. Try to prevent them from having mental or emotional breakdowns if possible. I need them sane."

She started glowing brighter and brighter. Soon, the light completely blocked out my vision. There was one final surge and when I opened my eyes, I was standing on a grassy plain in bright sunshine.

_You'll know them when you see them._ Her voice echoed inside my mind before fading away.


	2. Chapter 2

I looked around, assessing my surroundings. It was… different. I wondered where the person I was supposed to look after was. Grassy plains and sunshine were nice, but if I failed to hold up my end of the deal, there was no way she would agree to help me.

Spotting a village nearby, I started walking towards it. As I got closer, several children came running past me. They were laughing, scrambling over each other in a bid to catch hold of the one in front. I stepped aside neatly as a child nearly hurtled into me.

He did not seem to notice. I shook my head and sighed. She could not have meant for me to take care of one of these children could she?

I stopped, waiting for a feeling, a sign, anything. There was nothing. I moved on, inwardly relieved that I did not have to deal with them. I was never good with children.

It seemed to be market day at the village. It was a relatively large one and it looked prosperous. Yet, it was small enough so that everyone knew everyone else. As I strolled through the village, people called out greetings to their neighbors, friends, people they knew (basically all who were passing by).

No one seemed surprised at my presence. I assumed that they thought I was a trader, though my outfit made it seem unlikely.

I heard the sound of running footsteps, just behind me. I turned around, in time to see two people running towards me at full speed. My eyes widened. There was no time to dodge.

I noted that he did not even seem to notice my presence before he crashed into… no, ran_ through _me. The one behind him did the same.

I stood there, stunned. I was… intangible?

Recalling how no one in the village had seemed to register my presence, I smiled wryly. It seems that I was invisible too.

How was I to complete my mission this way?

My mind was so preoccupied that I had wandered into a different part of the town without noticing it. That place had been the market, this place was… I looked around; there were many houses, clustered together. Purely residential.

A young girl emerged from one of the houses. Following her were the two men who had alerted me to my current predicament. I waved aside the thought.

One of them was thanking her for… well, something. He was talking so fast that his words were garbled.

The other beamed proudly and said, "I just knew the Lady Priestess could do it."

A priestess? I drifted a little closer. She might be able to aid my current situation.

It took a long time, but I was finally able to get away. I understood their joy, truly, I did. However, I was tired, dusty, and there was a more interesting person waiting to talk to me.

I walked towards my house, sensing him follow. I did not feel any evil intent in him. Then again, if he had meant to cause harm, he would not have been able to get past the barrier around the village.

I entered the door, heaving a sigh of relief as I placed my medical case on the table. Home at last.

I was about to go into my room to grab a change of clothes before heading to the hot springs when I remembered I had a visitor. I turned around, looking directly at where I sensed him to be, noting with amusement the shock I could feel emanating off of him.

"So, are you going to introduce yourself?"


	3. Chapter 3

I watch as she leaves the group. She walks past me without noticing my presence. I feel just a hint of disappointment. I was so sure that she would see me.

As she heads towards some unknown destination, I feel myself drawn to follow her. I do not know why though. The moment I wondered about that, the answer flashed across my mind.

_She_ was the one I was to protect. After all, I was supposed to 'know them when you see them', wasn't I? Though how I was supposed to do anything in my incorporeal state was beyond me. Perhaps my powers remained?

She walked into a house which looked the same as the rest. I did not sense anyone else inside. From her sigh of relief as she placed her medical bag down on a table, I deduced that this was her home.

She turned in the direction of another room, presumably her bedroom. I had felt tempted to enter her house, yet it did not seem polite to go in uninvited. That was when I remembered that she was not able to see me. Waiting was pointless.

She took a step further into the house, an eager look on her face. Probably in anticipation of a bath or a nap, I surmised. Then, she hesitated for a moment.

Turning around, she looked directly at me.

"So, are you going to introduce yourself?" she asked.

I was… surprised. She had not seemed to notice me at all on the way here. Then again, she might have simply chosen to ignore me.

"I am…" I paused for a moment. I was no longer who I used to be. It was only fitting that I used my new identity. "Dark Magician," I said.

She inclined her head slightly in greeting.

"I am Elaine."

The two of us then stood there in silence. She appeared to have many questions to ask, yet, she was hesitating.

She took a deep breath and seemed to come to a decision.

"Much as I would like to stay and chat, but I'm tired and dirty. Perhaps after a bath and a nap?" she suggested.

Without waiting for me to agree, she had disappeared into her room. A moment later, she was out again, carrying a bundle of clothes in her arms.

"Don't follow."

Once again, she left, without waiting for my reply. She was obviously used to giving orders and having them followed.

I sat down on a chair next to the table, deciding to use this time to sort out my impressions of her.

She carried herself with experience and maturity. The kind of grace with which she walked, belonged only to a blooded warrior. She was also calm for her age. Too calm.

I did not know anything about her skills yet, but I doubted that they were limited to healing. There was a definite accent to her voice; it was a bit... cultured. A bit biting, too, from what I heard of her conversation with the villagers. It was extremely subtle but she was most likely not a patient person. On the other hand, it could be due to her being tired.

Sleep deprivation causes even small, insignificant things to wear on a person's nerves.

I sighed and settled back into the chair, preparing myself for a long wait. Mana had always taken ages in the bath. This new person, Elaine, I reminded myself, would most likely be no different.


	4. Chapter 4

I sink gladly into the hot water, my muscles relaxing as the water sooths away the aches and pains. I laugh as the thought crosses my mind. Aches and pains, words I had usually associated with people three times my age.

My thoughts drift to the visitor. Dark Magician, he called himself. It was most likely referring to the source of his power. He was powerful. His aura practically screamed that he was a highly ranked sorcerer.

Yet, I frowned at this point in time. He did not conceal it. Most spellcasters who had achieved a certain power ranking would cloak their auras. Others would project a fake aura, meant to deceive others. A person's aura could reveal more than its owner meant to.

His power signature was… I suppose it would be called neutral. Neither good nor bad, but more ambiguous. He was truly a wielder of darkness. Not the tainted form most people associated with it, but neutrality, darkness in its true form.

However, there was something _different_ about his energy. It seemed strange, exotic, like he had come from a land far away. But if he indeed was a spirit from someplace else., why was he here? What was his purpose?

His aura raised more questions than it answered. I sunk deeper into the calming waters. A mystery, just like him. Well, at least it would give me something to do.

About a half hour of soaking later, I got out, dried myself off and changed into fresh clothes. The hot water had made me sleepy and I was in no mood to think. I walked into my house, ignoring him, and proceeded to my room. He could wait, my nap couldn't.

I woke up feeling refreshed. From the position of the sun in the sky, I had been asleep for about three hours. His aura was blinding, especially with my senses newly sharpened after the nap. Idly, I wondered if he had been sitting there the entire time I was asleep.

Walking out of the room, I sat down on a chair opposite where I sensed his presence to be. He was powerful; there was no doubt about it. Definitely one of the strongest spellcasters I had met in a long time. What was he doing here though?

I decided to voice my thoughts.

"Why are you here?" I ask.

He did not bother to answer.

"Are you like _this_" I gestured towards him, meaning his current state of invisibility and intangibility, "by choice?"

"Does it seem like I'm doing it by choice?"

I raised an eyebrow. Well, it had been a possibility. Foreign spellcasters often did inexplicable things after all.

"So, why are you here?"

I reverted back to my first question when it became apparent that an explanation was not forthcoming.

"My reasons are my own."

This was going to be difficult. A magician of his caliber was strong enough to be a threat to the village. He was not doing any harm now, but if he did, he would be able to do serious damage to the village before I could stop him.

Still, he had gotten through the barrier. He couldn't be evil, at least, not yet. I sighed and left off of that line of questioning. Maybe another day, when he was more cooperative.

"I'm going outside to train now." I announced.


	5. Chapter 5

I had taken a walk around the village while she was still sleeping. To allow a stranger to wander across the village she was to protect… I frowned. Was she really that confident that I would not hurt anyone or was she just slack in her duties?

The village was a beautiful place, not big, but prosperous nonetheless. I detected spells for good harvests woven over the fields. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see charms for health and prosperity hanging in every house. These spells were strong and my estimation of the priestess was raised quite a bit.

However, this brought a perplexing question to my attention. With all these spells, how did the person from earlier fall ill?

Wishing to know more about my surroundings, I stretched my sense out as far as I could. Beyond the village, over the grassy field from earlier, a little further… There!

A life force unlike anything I had ever felt before, one unlike any human or monster. Too wild, too strong to be human, yet existing too much on the mortal plane to be a monster from the shadow realm.

I felt tempted to go seek it out, to find out more, but I sternly reminded myself of my task. I had to protect the Pharaoh and in order to find him; I had to ensure the safety of the human girl. I turned and walked back to her house.

It took ages, but she finally woke up. She sat down in the chair opposite mine. Neither of us spoke for a while, until she decided to break the silence.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

I did not reply. Through experience, I had found out that if I told someone I had been assigned to protect them, they would try to get away by any means possible. It was unlikely that she would be this childish, but better safe than sorry, as they say.

"Are you like _this_ by choice?"

I was… surprised, searching through my mind for instances which might have given her the impression that I _wanted _to be this way. Finding none, I asked, "Does it seem like I'm doing it by choice?"

Her silence was answer enough. She _had_ thought so.

"So, why are you here?" she asked again.

"My reasons are my own." I reply.

Hopefully, she would stop questioning me. Her tone was less demanding than it was before her nap, nut I was unused to having to answer to anyone except the Pharaoh.

She sighed softly. I suppose my refusal to answer her questions must have frustrated her. She was obviously used to getting what she wanted, immediately.

"I'm going outside to train now." She announced.

Maybe it was because she was in a better mood than before, but she was more courteous now. At least she acted like I was there instead of completely ignoring me. I almost laughed. That I would be reduced to babysitting a girl would never have occurred to me back when I was alive.

It was strange to think of it this way, that I was dead. I got up and followed her as she grabbed a bag before leaving the house. She would presumably be training her fighting skills. It would be good to at least gauge her ability in protecting herself.


	6. Chapter 6

Bow, arrows, blades, daggers, darts… I mentally checked off each weapon in my mind. I would be practicing with my bow and arrows today. They were the traditional weapons of my chosen vocation after all.

I glanced affectionately at my other weapons. Though I would not be training with them while _he_ was around, (it was never good to reveal all your weapons after all) it was still reassuring to see them.

Twin blades were hidden in my long sleeves, ready to appear with just a flick of the wrist. A number of darts were concealed in one of the many unseen pockets in my garments. The blades were my favorite weapons though, their weight reassuring me of their presence.

I fitted an arrow to my bow, taking aim. Three, two, one, fire. The arrow thudded dully into the center of the ring I had drawn. I pulled out three more arrows, firing them as fast as I could. My first arrow split the arrow I had fired earlier into half. As my second arrow did to my first. However, my aim was off on the third arrow and it embedded itself next to the second one.

I growled in frustration. Though such precision was not necessary into purifying a demon (they were rather big targets), but it was a matter of pride for me.

I looked at the tree. It was time to practice on moving targets. Standing there, I waited patiently. Just a little longer…

I felt a slight stirring of the air. What started out as a gentle breeze soon intensified into a great gust of wind. The leaves rustled merrily at first, then frantically. The first leaf fell.

I shot it straight in the middle, pinning it to the trunk of the tree. Two, three, four… I counted as my hands blurred into a frenzy of fitting and firing arrows. All too soon, the wind died down. I was panting slightly from the adrenaline rush.

Though the bow was not my favorite weapon, it was still exhilarating to practice with it. Turning my head in the direction of the foreign magician, I smiled smugly. Can you do better? I challenged silently.

There was no reply. Being unable to see him was becoming troublesome. I could not see what his responses were and since he did not talk much…

At that very moment, he decided to speak.

"You are talented with this weapon. However…" he trailed off.

I waited in silence for him to continue.

"You are a priestess, are you not?"

I nodded guardedly.

"Why don't you use your powers?"

I contemplated for a while on how I was to answer his question.

The give and take between people who seek information. A spy's game but interesting nonetheless. I was not particularly good at it, but the friend who taught me had told me to never give away information for free. You could use it as bait to gain their trust, or as a bartering tool to get something back in return.

I suppose I had no choice. He would not answer my questions otherwise.

"I'll tell you if you show me what you look like first."

"You mean you can't see me?" The surprise was evident in his normally monotone voice.

Oops. I didn't know that _he_ didn't know.


	7. Chapter 7

She couldn't see me. I had thought that she could. Which meant that she knew my location only through the sensing of my life force. At this point I frowned. I was dead, which meant I should not _have_ a life force. How did she know then?

"How do you tell where I am?"

She shook her head.

"Show me how you look like first." She replied stubbornly. "Information for information. It is a fair trade."

"If I could make myself visible, do you think I would remain in this state?"

"Foreign magicians often do illogical things." She replied before asking, "How long have you been like this."

I wondered if I should answer her question. However, what she said earlier, information for information meant that she was definitely frustrated with my refusal to reply.

"A day."

I hoped that by replying her questions she would tell me more about this new place I had ended up in.

"A day…"

She looked lost in thought.

"What happened?"

"I died."

Her eyes widened in shock.

"You mean…"

I nodded before remembering that she could not see me.

"If you're dead, what are you doing here?"

"An unfulfilled mission, an oath to protect."

"Why this village?"

"A bargain I struck."

Comprehension dawned on her face.

"Snow sent you, didn't she?"

"Snow?"

"Dressed in white and blue, has a rather warped sense of humor?"

A warped sense of humor? My stomach twisted uncomfortably. I had not thought to question her promise. Sending me here, like this, could be her idea of a joke and I had not thought to wonder why. Twice a fool.

The priestess, Elaine, took my silence as agreement.

"What kind of a deal did you make with her?"

I shook my head mutely, not wishing to reply. She looked at me unwaveringly. There was no reason for me to tell her.

"If you tell me, perhaps I can help."

I took a deep breath. She _might_ be able to help. After all, I had already been tricked. I had nothing more to lose.

"She told me that if I protected certain people she needed to keep safe, she would make sure that I would be able to meet with the Pharaoh once he awakened."

She relaxed visibly.

"All should be fine then."

I raised an eyebrow. How could it be?

"She might have a warped sense of humor, but she usually keeps her promises. Also, she admires loyalty in people. She wouldn't trick you." She paused for a while. "You're lucky in that aspect though. Otherwise, the way the contract was phrased would have been detrimental to you."

"How so?" I asked.

I was relieved that I had not been tricked after all. Now, I was curious about the person named Snow who had sent me here.

"The word 'meet' was used was it not? It could imply that you would get to see him, but not know who he was, or that you would get to say a word or two to him before either of you vanishes."

She went to pick up the arrows that were undamaged from her training earlier. She placed them in a quiver which she slung across her back. Picking up her bow, the two of us walked back to the house in silence.


End file.
